


The Spirit Within

by Palefire73



Series: Loki Origins [23]
Category: Frigga - Fandom, Loki - Fandom, Norse Gods - Fandom, sigyn - Fandom
Genre: Admirable Loki, Bittersweet, Cute Loki, Gen, Life Lessons, Loki learns, young loki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-12-24 19:07:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12019128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Palefire73/pseuds/Palefire73
Summary: Loki connects with the theme of a story and is chosen to play a principal character. He learns how connecting with an audience is the most important and beautiful thing any artist can achieve.He also learns what it means to lay down a life for another.





	The Spirit Within

It was a beautiful day in the shining golden city of Asgard and the warm sunshine lifted the spirits of many of her citizens as they went about their daily activities. In the Palace itself it was decided by those who ran the various classes that it would be nice to have them take place out on the huge terraces which ran between the various buildings and the lake which lay to the rear. There was more than enough room for the classes which were being held in the Palace, and so the art tutor had his class making studies of perspective and colour by drawing or painting the giant Mountain of Asgard in the distance, the Weaponsmaster used the shallow waters to impede the feet of his pupils as they practiced swordplay so that they would learn how to overcome their resistance and the tutor in charge of the very youngest children decided that the scenery made the perfect backdrop for a play.

 

Loki was in this class and all the children were read a story written by an author whose pseudonym was Lyse Brann. It told of how a young child went wandering into the woods only to be met with a great danger in the form of a Giant Wolf who caught her scent and decided to try to catch her to eat. Fortunately, one of the ancient Tree Spirits was benevolent enough to confront the Wolf and, in sacrificing itself, saved her. A couple of the younger children were scared by the thought of dark woods and big wolves intent on making the nearest child its lunch, but they were quickly distracted with the task of painting huge canvases with swathes of blue skies and big bushy trees which were going to act as a backdrop for their play. About half a dozen of the taller children in the group were chosen to dress up as “real” Trees, the largest boy Arvid was chosen to play the terrible Wolf and Sigyn, as the eldest girl, was chosen to play the Lost Child because she needed to remember some lines. Everyone seemed to have something to do and Miss Sturludóttir wandered around to check that each child was managing to carry out their task. Everything seemed to be coming along rather well; Sigyn had obtained a costume from the prop box and was now helping Arvid to create a tail from a long piece of rope, and the young set designers were having a great time painting the scenery – although the amount of paint they were getting on each other was causing them to blend in with it somewhat.

 

Another child who was blending in very well was Loki. He had been interested in the lesson and had listened to the story with eyes wide open in wonder and then in fright and then glistening with tears as his heart broke during the scene where the Tree Spirit sacrificed itself to save the Lost Child from the Wolf. Embarrassed at the thought that the other children might laugh at his sensitivity, he had hunched over where he sat on the grass and had imagined himself disappearing from their sights. Of course, being who he was, this was almost enough to cause it to happen. Loki’s Seidr, although in a fledgling state just like him, was unusually strong and intuitive and did not really require anything like an intonation of special words learned from a book. He was still there, sitting on his little patch of grass to one side of where all the activity was taking place, but he was not quite as noticeable as he might have been; his Seidr had made him less interesting than everything around him and so no one bothered to look right at him. It was not quite enough, however, for his tutor was aware of the pupils she had in her class, and after about ten minutes she realised she had not seen the Prince for a while. He had not asked to visit the bathroom and he was not painting, nor could she see him when she had a quick look around. The little mischief was up to something!

 

“Loki?” She called, and a few of the children looked at her enquiringly. “Prince Loki, where are you? I need to speak to you about your part in this production!” She looked about and spotted where he was. He had not moved from where the children had been sitting for story time and he was over there all alone. Why had she not seen him? Shaking her head, she went over to him and held out her hand to help him up.

“Come along, my Prince! We need to get you involved in our play. We are going to be putting it on for the adults this afternoon.” She brought him over to where some of the children were draping themselves in brown fabric for their tree trunks and Sigyn was now helping Arvid to paint his face in brown and grey paint to give the illusion of a hairy lupine.

“I want you to play the Tree Spirit… oh, Loki, whatever is the matter?!” She looked down as Loki snatched his small hand from hers and backed away shaking his head, his wide blue eyes locked on her in sadness. “Loki…?” Miss Sturludóttir stepped towards him, holding her hand out, but was astonished to see his cheeks redden and his bottom lip start to wobble. Smiling warmly, she lowered herself down and knelt before him, gesturing towards herself so that the little boy reluctantly approached her.

“Loki? Is something amiss?” She asked, but Loki glanced at Sigyn, who had stopped helping Arvid and was watching them. Realising Loki did not want an audience, Miss Sturludóttir gently took Loki’s hand in hers and stood up, “Walk with me, my Prince.”

 

The kindly tutor waved at one of her assistants, who came over to supervise her class and then she led Loki down towards the edge of the lake. The water was as smooth as glass today, with no hint of a breeze to disturb the surface – except where the weapons training was going on a few hundred yards away – and Miss Sturludóttir found a large smooth rock where she sat down with Loki next to her.

 

“Have I said anything to upset you, Loki?” She asked after a few moments of just looking out at the breathtaking view before them and she felt, rather than heard, Loki sigh.

“No…” his small voice said, but it was laden with quite the opposite answer.

“Would you rather not be in our play? I thought you quite liked the story… you certainly listened very attentively when I read it.”

“I did like the story… but… but… Miss… it ended _terribly!_ ” Loki’s little three year old voice cracked and he sniffled as he remembered the part which had made him cry. His tutor placed her arm around his shoulders, which began to move as fresh tears came and she hugged him to her side.

“Oh, Loki! There is no shame in being moved by a story! That is all any writer wants: to connect with their audience and to make them, well… to make them _feel_!” She gave Loki her handkerchief, which was a beautiful deep green edged with golden embroidery. As Loki took it gratefully, he wiped away his tears and looked at some initials also stitched in gold: “L B”. He traced the letters with his little fingers and then looked up at Miss Sturludóttir “These are not your name letters…”

“No, they are not. Can you keep a secret, Loki?” She winked and gave him a conspiratorial look.

“Er… yes, I think so.”

“Oh, _no_! You need to _know_ so! I saw how you connected with the story earlier on and I saw how it affected you. You _felt_ Loki. You _cared_. So, can you now keep a secret? The handkerchief is yours to keep if you can…”

The youngster looked back at the soft green cloth in his hands and at the beautifully delicate golden embroidery, which now held a secret it seemed. It was just too tempting for him. “Yes!” He decided, “Yes, I can keep a secret.”

“Then you can also keep that handkerchief. I think you know whose those initials are?” She asked.

 

It clicked in Loki’s mind, then. Miss Sturludóttir’s understanding and appreciation of his reaction to the story she had told today could only mean one thing: _she_ was Lyse Brann!

“I will not tell a soul!” He whispered and tucked his prize away in a pocket. His tutor stood and held out her hand for him to hold.

“Will you play my Tree Spirit, Loki?” She asked as they made their way back to where all the other children were almost ready to rehearse their production, “Will you give him the emotion he needs?”

“I would be honoured.” Said Loki solemnly, “I will do my best to make the audience feel it, too.”

 Miss Sturludóttir, who hid behind the pseudonym of Lyse Brann, smiled as they walked; she had absolutely no doubt he would.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Frigga’s crystal blue eyes filled with tears as she watched the Tree Spirit take the hand of the Lost Girl and start to lead her along a Safe Path through the Scary Forest of Big Trees. Loki was dressed in a simple brown shift which flowed to the floor in strips which were tipped with daubs of brown and green paint to indicate that he was of the fabric of the world. Sigyn was dressed in a blue dress with a pleated skirt and wore a red hooded cloak over the top. The two children were taking their parts in the play very seriously and the Lost Girl looked around in wonder as the Safe Path – a yellow cloth on the floor which was revealed by the Big Trees moving apart – appeared to lead her out of the Scary Forest.

 

“I have long watched you this night.” Said the Tree Spirit, “And I must confess I love thy gentle ways with all my heart and could not allow you to be lost here forever, wandering and alone.” He took another step along the Path, “It is dangerous here.”

“How fortunate am I that one such as you would reveal your true nature and guide me to safety.” Said the Lost Girl and they took another step on the Path. A bright patch of blue sky appeared as one of the Big Trees moved to one side.

“Look through yonder trees!” Announced the Lost Girl, pointing along the way, “I see my home!”

“Then you must go…” Said the Tree Spirit, “Live your life and be happy… and perhaps think of me?”

“I will visit you!” Laughed the Lost Girl as they took another step along the Path to safety.

“I will not be here,” Replied the Tree Spirit sadly, “Once I left my body, I knew I could never return. I will wander these paths until I fade away. There is nothing to keep me in the world now.” The Tree Spirit passed a dramatic hand across his brown and green painted brow.

“Why did you leave your body?” Asked the Lost Girl, sadly.

“Because I love you and I would not see you suffer! Now, go. Before it is too…..”

 

The Narrator spoke: “A huge shadow fell over them as the Giant Wolf appeared. It had pursued the Lost Girl through the Scary Forest all night and had finally found her before she could escape the Big Trees! He howled in delight – he would have fresh meat tonight!”

 

Sigyn – as the Lost Girl – screamed out in fright and Loki – as the Tree Spirit – stood defensively between her and the Giant Wolf.

 

“You shall not have her!” He cried out and turned to the Lost Girl. Stroking her cheek, he smiled sadly and then leaned in to place a small kiss on her forehead. Drawing back, he hardened his face and shouted “Run!”

Shocked by his command, the Lost Girl’s eyes widened, but then she turned and stepped along the Safe Path, which opened up as she made her way along it. Large Shadows – big pieces of sheer grey cloth held up by other Big Trees – moved across and blurred the figures of the Giant Wolf and the Tree Spirit, but the audience could see in silhouette how the Giant Wolf attacked the Tree Spirit and killed him for losing him his prize of the Lost Girl, who finally stumbled past the last Big Tree and away from the Scary Forest.

 

The Narrator spoke: “And so the Lost Girl found her way back to her family, but she never spoke of her time wandering through the Scary Forest, or of the kindly Tree Spirit who had loved her so much for her gentle ways that he had sacrificed himself to save her from the jaws of the Giant Wolf.”

 

Two young girls marched across in front of the players with a large sign which read “The End” and bowed, whereupon the audience started to clap and cheer. Frigga produced a large cream handkerchief and blew her nose noisily before wiping away the tears from her face. She was not alone. Many of those who had watched were moved by the age-old theme of unrequited love and tragic death. The two girls moved to one side and all the children who had played the various trees, clouds and so on came forwards to bow, then they moved to each side and the Giant Wolf helped the Tree Spirit to his feet in time to be joined by the Lost Girl. They all bowed to more applause and Frigga’s heart swelled with pride as she saw the look of wonder in Loki’s eyes at the appreciation being shown for the play.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Later that night, Frigga cuddled up next to Loki as he got comfortable in his bed.

“I was so proud of you today, my son. What a wonderful play.” She stroked his brown hair and looked into his eyes, which were growing sleepy, “You were marvellous… all of you. It made me cry!”

“That’s what Miss Sturludóttir said should happen.” Said Loki, “She said that the true measure of a story is if it can make the audience feel something. She said it was all she ever wanted… to make the people watching become involved.”

Frigga smiled; Loki was using some very big words these days! It seemed he was enjoying his education and was soaking up everything he was being taught.

“Well, you certainly did your jobs today. My heart was broken as you laid your life down for the Lost Girl.”

 

There was a quiet moment while Loki thought about what his mother had said, and in his young mind something very profound clicked into place. He did not know how to convey it to her in a deep and meaningful fashion. He did not have the vocabulary or the skill of the Silver Tongue just yet, and so he spoke simply in the manner of the three year old he was.

 

“But Móðir, the Tree Spirit loved the Lost Girl and that is why he died to save her.” He clasped his small fingers around hers, “I would do the same for you.”

**Author's Note:**

> OK, I admit it. This is hugely inspired by the fact that Mr H is back on stage in London. Having watched interviews and BTS footage of previous times he has trodden the boards, it certainly looks as though he thrives off the intimacy theatre gives between the people in the room, i.e. the players and the audience. I am admittedly very envious of everyone who gets to see this very limited run of Mr H's Hamlet, as it is one of my favourites of Mr S's plays.
> 
> So, back to my point: Here, we see a shining example of Loki's sensitivity developing, and another chance for him to connect with Sigyn. It's just a shame that what he said to Frigga was a terrible reversal of what actually happened :(  
> (Sorry... *hides behind blanket*)
> 
> Also, "Lyse Brann" is as close as I could get in Old Norse to my pseudonym. It literally means "Bright Fire"


End file.
